Who are the preferred preferred?

Nichole Christian calls for women to oppose the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative by repeating the tired cliché of “rolling back the clock.” Before answering this call, remember the initiative was started because two women, Jennifer Gratz and Barbara Grutter, were denied admission to the University of Michigan because of the policies promoted by Christian. In these cases, race trumped gender.

Perhaps supporters of racial and gender preferences should be more specific about who they favor most. When conflicts occur, what ranking should be applied and who gets to decide? Is an African-American woman more deserving than a Latino man? How about Native Americans? Right now, we only know white men rank last.

[Letter to the Editor - Detroit Free Press. Published 04/18/2006]